Afiara String Quartet

www.afiara.com

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The Afiara String Quartet has just been awarded 2nd Prize at the Munich ARD Competition!

The all-Canadian Afiara String Quartet is the Morrison Fellowship Quartet-in-Residence at the International Center for the Arts, San Francisco State University, where they serve as teaching assistants to their mentors, the world-renowned Alexander String Quartet. Awarded 2nd Prize at the Munich ARD International Music Competition, the San Francisco Classical Voice calls the Afiara Quartet "a terrifically unified, versatile, and moving ensemble" with "startling intensity" and a "powerful, keen-edged collective sound". Guelph Mercury says, "As if cued by telepathic forces, they wove separate roles into a cohesive and elegant musical fabric." They have performed at Carnegie Hall in the "Kronos: Signature Works" series, taught as faculty ensemble at Chamber Music of the Rockies and Canada's Southern Ontario Chamber Music Institute, and, in their New York debut, were presented by Chamber Music America and the Kronos at St. Luke's Church. They have been heard on KALW, CBC Radio 2, and were featured in the "Road to Banff" documentary.

This season, the quartet will appear with the Alexander String Quartet in performances of Mendelssohn's Octet on the San Francisco Performances' series at Herbst Theatre and at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, with pianist Stephen Prutsman at Music in the Mountains in Nevada City and the San Jose Chamber Music Society, and with Bonnie Hampton in a performance of Schubert's Cello Quintet with the Starcross Festival. The quartet will also play concerts in the Chamber Music in Occidental and Calgary ProMusica series. Also, sponsored by the ICA, the Afiaras will record for the FogHorn Classics label an album of quartets by Mendelssohn and Schubert, as well as the Mendelssohn Octet with the Alexander Quartet, to be released in the spring of 2009.

Formed in 2006, the Afiara Quartet was invited to compete as one of the ten semi-finalists in the 9th Banff International String Quartet Competition and was named a Finalist in the 2007 Concert Artists Guild International Competition in New York. They were one of the two quartets-in-residence of Aspen Music Festival's Advanced Quartet Studies Program in 2008, are Artists-in-Residence at Lake Tahoe Music Festival's Education and Outreach Program, and Affiliates of San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music.

Under the auspices of the American Composers Forum and the Jerome Foundation, they gave the world premiere of Huck Hodge's String Quartet No. 2 in New York. To date, the quartet has given the world premiere of Brett Abigana's Une Grande Messe in San Francisco, the East Coast premiere of Peteris Vasks' String Quartet in New York, and Jason Bush's string quartet "Visions", which is dedicated to and written for the Afiara String Quartet, received its world premiere in San Francisco. Finally, in collaboration with timpanist Louis Siu, they commissioned and premiered new chamber music repertoire for string quartet and the tenor timpani, resulting in many new works for the medium.

The Afiara String Quartet takes its name from the Spanish fiar, meaning "to trust". It has been said that chamber music is a conversation between friends. Within the support of friendship, the Afiaras found that trusting each other, in rehearsal and on stage, was vital to the depth and joy of their music-making. The Afiara Quartet is committed to education, sharing their music with those less fortunate, and connecting to audiences on different levels. They combine urban elements to their outreach and make new connections in their presentations by coupling together Haydn and hip-hop, often to the glee of students and enthusiastic amusement of adults. They collaborate and perform with the rap group Blunt Delphix.

Along with their studies with the Alexander String Quartet, the Afiaras are fortunate to have worked with the American Quartet, Cavani Quartet, Emerson Quartet, Kronos Quartet, Takacs Quartet, Ying Quartet, Earl Carlyss, James Dunham, Henk Guittart, Bonnie Hampton, Geoff Nuttall, Barry Shiffman and Scott St. John and at the San Francisco Conservatory with Paul Hersh, Mark Sokol, and Ian Swensen.

(Updated: September 2008. Please discard all previously released materials.)